MASONIC BELIEFS

On this page I would like to put some interesting commonly held beliefs about Freemasonary by Charlie Rogerson P.M.There will be many Freemasons who are are aware of them and others may find of interest;WHICH IS THE OLDEST MASONIC LODGE IN THE WORLD ?ROBERT BURNS AND FREEMASONARYTHE FORGET-ME-NOT (read about this item on Lodge Scotia Glasgow web page www.lodgescotia178.co.uk

Which Lodge is oldest Masonic Lodge ?Many freemasons are curious as to what is the oldest Masonic Lodge in the World ?A great belief is that Mother Kilwinning was the oldest but history may prove wrong.History tells us that the Lodge of Edinburgh No.1 Edinburgh is the oldest, this lodge is sometimes known as Mary's Chapel In July 1949 it observed its 350th anniversary of its establishment and as of 2009 it is 409 years old. Oldest Masonic Lodge Minutes -31st July 1599: Lodge of Edinburgh has records to prove its long time existence as The Oldest Masonic Lodge. Most impressively, its first 5 pages of minutes incorporate the Schaw Statutes which are dated 28th December 1598. Six months later, on 31st July 1599 are to be found the minutes which confirm the lodge's claim as having the oldest existing masonic minutes. It must be noted however, that from these minutes there exists no conclusive evidence that the lodge was actually constituted on this date. SCHAW STATUES: the Schaw Statues are named for William Schaw, who was Master of Works to His Majesty and General Warden of the Masonic Craft. In the statues, he declared that these ordinances issued by him for the regulation of lodges considered the lodge at Edinburgh to be for all time, the first principal Lodge Lodge of Edinburgh No. 1 was first called "The Lodge of Edinburgh" and retained this name until 1688. When the Grand Lodge of Scotland (established 30th November 1736) confirmed the lodges charter, it was designated as: " The Lodge of Edinburgh (Mary's Chapel ) No1 Prominent members belonging to the Lodge in its very early days were: *His Royal Highness, The Prince of Wales (afterwards called King Edward V11) *His Royal Highness King Edward V111Both were affilated within the Lodge, taking the obligation on the "Breeches Bible" which was printed in 1587. The pen with which these 2 brethren signed the roll is still preserved in the Edinburgh Lodge No. 1 museumAs early as 1600, The Lodge of Edinburgh began to admit non-operative freemasons. In June 1600 the Laird of Auchinleck was made a speculative member, the first authentic record of the making of such a member

INCEPTION of GRAND LODGE of SCOTLAND -1763. when the Grand Lodge of Scotland was established on 30th November 1736 Lodge of Edinburgh took an active part. Thirty Three lodges were represented at the meeting which was held in the lodge room of the Edinburgh Lodge. Because the oldest minute of a lodge was that of Edinburgh Lodge, it was placed first on the roll of the Grand Lodge LODGE KILWINNING -1642: Lodge Kilwinning was the second oldest masonic lodge because of its records dating to 20th December, 1642. Considerable friction developed in 1807 when the Grand Lodge of Scotland permitted Kilwinning to prefix the word "MOTHER" to its name Lodge Mother Kilwinning

Lodge Mother Kilwinning No. 0

The history of the Mother Lodge dates back to the year 1140 at the building of the Abbey , the ruins of which lie to the rear of the Lodge . The Lodge was founded in the chapter house within the Abbey and remained there until the reformation in 1560 when the Earl of Glencairn , a blood enemy of the Earls of Eglinton who hold a long tradition with the Lodge , sacked the Abbey . Little is known of the masons at this point but they still met at various locations including the Abbey in 1598-1599 , the house in the Crossbrae in the town centre in 1643 ( the ” masons howf ” ) and the court house of the Earl of Eglinton . In the mid 1700,s the masons decided to build a new Lodge and in 1779 the old Lodge was built at the entrance to the Abbey . Unfortunately 100 years later due to decay and fear of the building collapsing it was demolished and a new Lodge was built 30 yards from the former site and remains there today. The present Lodge was consecrated in 1893. Before the forming of Grand Lodge in 1736 Mother Kilwinning was a Grand Lodge in her own right issuing warrants and charters to Lodges wishing to enjoy the privileges of Freemasonry, many Lodges still carry Kilwinning’s name today . Scotland being a small country it was undesirable to have two Grand Lodges so Mother Kilwinning gave up this right . However in 1745 Grand Lodge decided to number lodges by seniority and oldest records , unfortunately Mother Kilwinning’s minute books date back to 1642 , previous records thought to have been smuggled by the monks to France during the reformation or destroyed in the disastrous fire at nearby Eglinton Castle . Mother Kilwinning was placed second on the roll of the Grand Lodge a position she strongly disagreed with , so withdrew and continued to issue charters as before.This dispute lasted until 1807 when the Grand Lodge of Scotland and the Grand Lodge of Kilwinning met in Glasgow and settled their differences and a new and binding agreement was reached , that being that Mother Kilwinning was placed at the Head of the Roll of the Grand Lodge of Scotland and now has the famous and distinctive Number ‘ 0 ‘. The master of the Lodge would by right of that office become Provincial Grand Master of Ayrshire .Mother Kilwinning also gave up the right to issue warrants and charters . In 1860 during a search in Eglinton Castle the now famous Schaw statutes of 1598 and 1599 were found . William Schaw the ” Maister o’ Work and “Warden o’er a’ the masons ” wrote that Kilwinning was the “Heid ( Head ) Ludge o’ Scotland . Had these statutes been available in 1745 there would have been no doubt about Kilwinning’s position in Freemasonry. This agreement lasted for 176 years until amended 1983, where once again Masonic change was required of Mother Kilwinning . The Master of Kilwinning no longer becomes Provincial Grand Master of Ayrshire Mother Kilwinning has the right for all time being to nominate a Brother to become Grand Lodge Bible Bearer. There was erected and consecrated the Provincial Grand Lodge of Kilwinning with Mother Kilwinning having the sole right to nominate the Provincial Grand Master in the Province of Kilwinning . These changes further ensure Mother Kilwinning’s still present singular position and autonomy in the Masonic world .

Robert Burns: Freemason

Robert Burns was initiated an Entered Apprentice in Lodge St David Tarbolton on the 4th July 1781 at the age of 23 His initiation fee was 12s 6d (62.5 pence new money) and paid on the same day.Like many other times in his life, Burns came into the lodge admist a controversy. Originally there had been only one Lodge in Tarbolton, chartered in 1977 from the Kilwinning Lodge which they claim to be the oldest lodge. (open for controversy readabove.) In 1773, a group broke away from the Lodge forming Lodge St David No. 174 and the original lodge became St. James Tarbolton Kilwinning No. 178 only to be reunited in 1781, nine days before Burns's first degree. However, while St James was clearly the older of the two lodges, St David's name was used, and the seeds were sown for further dissension. Burns in the meantime was passed to the degree of fellowcraft, and raised to the degree of Master Mason in 1st October 1781. the lodge record book, reads as follows: Robert Burns in Lochy was passed and raised, Henry Cowan being Master, James Humphrey Sen. Warden Alex Smith Jnr. Warden Robt Wodrow Sec. and James Manson Treas. and John Tannock Taylor and others of the brethren being present. Manson and Wodrow would later take the regalia of St James's lodge from the charter chest (containg the minute books, archives and other belongings) stored at John Richard's Inn ( Richard was a Steward of Lodge St David) after tricking Richard into a false errand with a couple of "gills" of punch. While originally ordered to return the regalia and other items by the Grand Lodge, it was eventually ruled that since the union of the 2 lodges were voluntary, then the seperation was as well. The St James Lodge met again as a seperate body on 17th June 1782 Burns went with Lodge St James and on the 27th July 1784 he was elected " Depute Master" of the lodge at the ripe young age of 25. Sir John Whiteford was the R.W.M. of the Lodge, but it was some what of an honourary position, and the Depute Master in reality was in charge. Burns was faithful to the Lodge attending regulary and 3 minutes were in his handwriting; 29 minutes were signed by him and also show when he changed his name; originally his father spelled the last name "Burness" before 1786, Robert spelled it the same way. On 1st March 1786 Robert's brother Gilbert received his 2nd degree and 3rd degree; both signed their names as Burns.1786 was not a happy year for Robert Burns financially or emotionally. Tradition says that Burns recited his " Farewell Brethren" of St James Lodge Tarbolton on the night of 23rd June at the stated meeting of the lodge, in anticipation of his voyage to the West Indies.However, Burns decided to stay in Scotland when in July 1786 his Kilmarnock edition of poems was established, by a brother freemason and 350 brethren of Lodge St John Kilmarnock subscribed to a copy.In October he was made an Honourary Member of Lodge Kilmarnock Kilwinning St John. In honour of the Lodge and its R.W.M. Major William Parker he wrote a "Masonic Song"Burns's rise in popularity for his poems also contributed to his rise in Freemasonary. At a meeting of Lodge St Andrew in Edinburgh in 1787, at which the Grand Master and Grand Lodge of Scotland were present, Burns was toasted by the the Worshipful Grand Master Most Worshiful Brother Francis Charteris with the words " Caledonia and Caledonia's bard Brother Robert Burns", which was met with a terrific response from the brethren, Burns was completely taken aback and though trembling, returned the toast of the Grand Master, to response of " very well indeed" from some of the office bearers of the Grand LineIn February 1787 Burns was made the Poet Laureate of Lodge Canongate Kilwinning No. 2 Edinburgh.When Burns moved to Dumfries, he joined Lodge St. Andrew on St John Day, 1788 and once again showed a great enthusiasm for his lodge. In 1792, he was elected Worshipful Senior Warden and served a one-year term.This was the last masonic officehe held before his death in 1796. He was 37 years oldFreemasonary's influence on Burns's poetry is quite visible: Poems such as "Libel Summons" " A Mans a Mans for a That" etc. Auld Lang Syne is a concrete expression of his love of mankind and his ideal of international brotherhood "No man is a failure when he has his friends"